Facts About Muscles

Without our muscles, we wouldn’t be able to move. Muscles help us to do everything, whether tiny blinks or movements of the eyes or running down the road. Some of the muscles you can control, such as your biceps for throwing an object but other muscles are moved without thinking, such as those that help you breathe or blink. Here are some fascinating muscle facts you might not know:

Three groups

Muscles are separated into three different groups – cardiac, skeletal and smooth. Smooth muscles are the ones you move without thinking, such as those found in blood vessels and the gut. Cardiac muscles are those that make your heart work. Skeletal muscles are those attached to bones that help you to sit, stand, walk and all other everyday activities.

That’s a lot of muscles! This figure includes all those in your legs, arms and those unseen deep inside your body. There are far more muscles than bones – 600 compared to 206. Aching or sore muscles? Consider visiting cheltenham osteopaths at www.cmosteopaths.co.uk

Muscles consist of muscle fibres

Muscle fibres are special cells that have a great deal of flexibility and contractibility, meaning they can shorten and lengthen when required. It is this quality that enables us to carry out almost all movement.

The biggest muscle

The biggest muscle in the body is the main extensor of the hip or better known as the big muscle in the buttocks. The reason it has to be so large is because it has the important job of supporting your trunk and help with posture. The gluteus maximus is also the main muscle employed when climbing stairs.

The strongest muscle

The strongest muscle in the body is called the masseter and it’s found in your jaw. It can close your teeth together with a force of up to 200 pounds.

The muscle working the hardest is without doubt, the heart. On a normal day of activity, a heart muscle can pump roughly 2,500 gallons of blood around the body.

Busiest muscles

Some of the muscles that are the most active include those that control your eye movements. Think about how many times your eyes move in a day, looking at your surroundings, driving, reading and watching TV for example. An hour of reading can mean 10,000 movements.

Push not pull

Muscles are unable to push and only pull. For example, when you push a door open, your muscle is actually pulling your shoulder and elbow against the door, not pushing.